


Family divided (sequel to the dare)

by Edom



Series: The Dare and Family Divided [1]
Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, M/M, Michael Novotny Bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-17
Updated: 2009-03-11
Packaged: 2018-12-27 01:26:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12070863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edom/pseuds/Edom
Summary: Sequel to the dare.





	1. Rage money

  
Author's notes:

Thank you TayTAy4936 for the great and fast beta work.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Brian POV**  

The next day at Deb’s, we were all sitting around the table talking about everything and nothing when I decided to ask Mikey about Rage again.

  
“So Mikey, how are things with Rage? Did you guys make any money at all?”

“Well, arhm, you know I haven’t really looked at the books yet. I’m sure there really isn’t all that much money and it’s not like Justin really needs the money now anyway."

He was stuttering and not looking me in the eye.

“What do you mean he doesn’t need the money? We just started a new company; of course we need the money. What the fuck does that have to do with anything, anyway?  The money is his. I think you should go get the books and let Theodore look at them so we can get to the bottom of this.”

“That really won’t be necessary, Brian.  I’ll take a look at the books one of these days and just figure out how much Justin is due.”

He was fidgeting, and by then everybody had caught on.

“I don’t mind doing it, Michael,” Ted said carefully, not sounding like he thought something was amiss. “I could even do it now.”

“It’s not like I have the books with me,” Michael said, defensively.

“Then, I think it would be a really good idea if you were to go get them. Just to put all our minds at ease.”

This time it was Mel’s turn to speak up.

“Fine. If none of you believe me, I guess I better get them now.”'

He huffed in a way that he probably thought would make us all fall all over ourselves to reassure him that we did believe in him and he, therefore, didn’t have to get the books. None of us did.

After Michael left, Justin was beginning to look a little worried.

“What’s up, Sunshine? You don’t look too hot. Well, actually you do, but you look worried.”

That got me half a smirk until he just looked worried again.

“What if he somehow tried to cheat me out of my cut from the comic? I don’t like to think that he is capable of something like that.”

“I’m sure it’s not as bad as that. He probably just hasn’t gotten around to it yet and is a little embarrassed about that.”

I tried to look confident, but I had a sinking feeling in my gut and Justin didn’t look convinced either.

When Michael came back, Ted got to work by the dinner table in the kitchen while the rest of us gathered in the living room. We just sat around talking, but it was pretty obvious that all of us were shooting glances to the kitchen every now and then.

After about an hour, Ted called Mel in, I guessed to discuss their contract and the division of the profit. They split everything 50-50, but maybe Ted didn’t know that. As it turned out, that was not what he needed her for.

They both came into the living room looking very somber.

“Well, according to my calculations, there is a profit of 10,000 dollars.”

“What? I get 5,000 dollars?” Justin said, clearly shocked by the number.

“No, the 10,000 is each,” Ted said, quietly.

“What?” Justin almost fell off the couch, and would have, if I didn’t have a hold around his shoulder.

“Where the fuck have you been hiding that much money?” He looked at Michael with confusion, hurt and a starting anger in his eyes. “And more importantly, why haven’t you given it to me?”

“It’s not like you really need it, and I did. I had to spend money on renovations to the store and then we needed money for Hunter. You could always go to your mommy and get money if you really needed it.”

“What the fuck is the matter with you?” I roar at him. “That’s embezzlement and you get serious jail time for that!”

He got really pale at that and Deb looked horrified.

“But, Justin would never press charges against Michael, would you Sunshine?”

“Why wouldn’t he? It’s not like Michael is such a great friend to him; and what he did is illegal. My advice would be to sue his ass.”

Mel looked pissed; and looking around the room, I could see that Michael’s support was dwindling fast.

“But, we are a family. Families don’t sue each other.”

“Between the people in this room, I don’t think we should rule out anything in the ‘what families do to each other’ category. Besides, he fucking stole $10,000 from me, Deb. Family aren’t supposed to steal from each other, either.”

Justin looked devastated. He trusted Michael to take care of the business part of the comic, not to take his personal feelings into the business relationship they have.

“Justin, he is your partner’s best friend, has been for a very long time. I took you in when you had nowhere else to go; please don’t do this.”

“What have I done, Deb? I’m not the one who stole from Michael. I’m not the one who badmouthed him every chance I got. I’m not the one who has tried to undermine his relationship at every turn. What exactly is it you think I have done?”

I could tell he was close to tears, and I know how much he hates to cry in front of anybody.

“Besides, it really isn’t fair of you to try and make Justin feel guilty about Michael stealing from him, Deb. You took him in because you liked him and because Brian asked you to. His mother even paid you for room and board. And as for Michael being Brian’s best friend? I doubt it very much. I would agree if you had said that Brian is Michael’s best friend, but not the other way around. Justin is right. Michael has done all those things and you just don’t do that to your best friend’s partner.”

Vic sounded sad and resigned. I could see the disappointment in his face.

“Thanks, Vic. I have had the same thought a couple of times in the last 2 years but never wanted to voice them. I guess I didn’t want to face reality.”

I squeezed his shoulder before taking Justin’s hand and leading him to the door.

“Michael, I suggest you find a way to come up with Justin’s money within the next month or I will recommend that he sue you.”

With that, we left the house.

Over the next couple of hours, we got phone calls from Ted, Emmett and the munchers saying that they will support whatever decision we make. I could tell that Justin is happy about that, but something was still bothering him a lot.

“What’s up, Sunshine? You look kind of gloom.”

“I’m just sad that the family is divided over this. I really don’t know what the fuck Michael was thinking. Didn’t he think that I would find out at some point?”

“Honestly? I think he was trying to punish you for the fiddler.”

“What? But that has nothing to do with him.”

Justin looked genuinely confused.

“Justin, you know that Michael feels that everything that has to do with me has to do with him. I tried several times to tell him that you didn’t do anything to me, that we had been doing this to each other and to stay the fuck out of it.  Apparently, he didn’t listen.”

“He never does.”

Justin sounded and looked so tired. A lot more tired than any 20-year-old has a right to be.

“Let’s go to bed, Sunshine. Maybe things will look up in the morning.”

He took my offered hand and followed me up to the bedroom.


	2. Rage money

  
Author's notes: Ted finally changes his mind.  


* * *

**Justin POV**

 

Monday, after the disastrous family dinner, Brian, Cynthia and I were working when the buzzer sounded.

 

When I asked who it was, the answer came back, ‘Ted’. Brian and I looked at each other with knowing smiles; we knew he would come around eventually.

 

When the elevator stopped at our floor, I opened the door and let him into the loft.

 

“Hi, guys. Is the offer still standing?”

 

“You tired of being an opera singing waiter?”

 

“Well, kinda. I mean, working with you to secure the transfer and then looking at the books for Rage made me realize that I like being an accountant.”

 

“Good for you, Ted. Yes, the offer still stands. We could use the help.  As it is now, Brian is doing the books himself.  It’s not that he can’t do them, but they take up too much time that could be used for other things.”

 

I winked at him and he blushed slightly.

 

“If you consider working for these two, you have to develop a thicker skin about sexual innuendo,”

 

Cynthia said, dryly.

 

“Are you saying that we use sexual innuendo a lot, Cyn?”

 

Brian asked, with his tongue in his cheek.

 

“About every other sentence,”

 

she answered, dryly.

 “Well, come on in, Theodore. You’ll have to make do with this old computer for now. We have other things to use our money for at the moment. All the financial stuff is already on there. Could you maybe go through it all, see if there is anything I have missed?”

 

Brian led Ted to the dining room table and a somewhat old computer. It didn’t have a lot of fancy programs on it, but it did have the ones necessary for the financial stuff. Ted sat down, booted up and got to work.

 

“Ted? Don’t you want to know what we’ll be paying you? Maybe see a contract, have Mel go over it with you? You can start working afterwards.”

 

I asked him.  It wasn’t really fair to put him to work without a contract.

 

“That’s alright, Justin, I trust you. I don’t think that you would cheat me. I’ll take the contract to Mel after work.”

 

“Ok, if that’s what you want.”

 

We all went back to work and the loft was quiet once more, except for the random remark about something.

 

**Brian POV**

 

Imagine that, our little agency now has four people working there. It is becoming even more acute to get the bathhouse done as soon as possible. It would be a bitch to have both Ted and Cynthia at the loft every single day. It’s not that they are any trouble, but like Justin says, this is our home, well, mine, anyway. I have been meaning to ask him to move back in for some time now. I’m just scared shitless that he will turn me down.  We don’t exactly have the best track record for living together. I want this time to last.

 

At the end of the day, Ted came over to me with ‘the books’, they were really just papers he had printed, and we went through them together. As it turned out, I had overlooked a possible deduction for the use of the loft for business purposes until the bathhouse was ready. That just earned us another couple of grand.

 

“Good work, Theodore. Maybe we’ll keep you around.”

 

He blushed but looked pleased with the compliment. I gave him his contract, the one Justin and I had drawn up after we made him the offer in the first place, and he looked through it.

 

“I’ll go see Mel right now, get her to go through it. I’ll have it for you tomorrow if that’s all right?”

 

“Of course it’s all right. We didn’t expect you to just sign it without having consulted your lawyer first,”

 

Justin reassured him.  I think he should be in charge of human resources at the agency; god knows he’s much better at it than I will ever be.

 

Once Ted and Cynthia left, I grabbed my partner and hauled his ass up to bed. I threw him down and he laughed.

 

“Feeling frisky?”

 

He winked and I could do nothing but growl and pounce on him.  I mean, really, what did he think would happen after a remark like that?

 

**Ted POV**

 

When I got to Mel and Lindsay’s house, I knocked and Mel opened the door.

 

“Ted, what are you doing here?”

 

“I have a contract I would like you to go over with me, if you have the time?”

 

“Sure, I’d be happy to. I just have to sit on the couch; I hope you don’t mind. My feet have to be elevated; otherwise, I might kill the first person to cross me.”

 

She laughed a little, just to let me know that she was, at least halfway, joking.

 

“Not a problem.”

 

“So, let me see the contract.”

 

She reached out her hand and I gave it to her.

 

“I have already seen this.  In fact, I wrote this, Ted. It is a very fair deal they are giving you here. You won’t make all that much in the beginning, but you have a guarantee that your pay will increase with the income of the agency. They really couldn’t have offered you a better deal, even if they wanted to.”

 

I was stunned.

 

“When did they ask you to do the contract?”

 

“About a week ago, after you did whatever it was you did for them. They were quite impressed and confident that you would come around, that you wouldn’t be happy being a waiter for very long.”

 

I didn’t know if I should be pissed or proud. I opted for proud; pissed would get me nowhere.

 

“They really have that much confidence in me?”

 

“Yes, the increased salary was Brian’s idea, but the bonus package was Justin’s. They both really want you to work for them.”

 

“Wow, so you think I should sign the contract?”

 

“Yes, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better offer anywhere else.”

I grabbed a pen and signed my name. I would give the contract to Brian first thing tomorrow. I hope they will hurry up and finish the office. It feels a little weird to go to work at the loft. I know how private Brian is.  He must really hate having us there all the time.


	3. Company cars

  
Author's notes: The boys goes to the car dealership.  


* * *

**Brian POV**

 

We have been working at the loft for about four weeks now, Ted only two, but still, I am going to kill somebody if the office is not done soon. It is not that either one of them is any trouble to have around, but I have a really hard time being so close to both Justin and a bed, without throwing him down on it and fucking him senseless.

 

I will let you in on a little secret. I fucking love being monogamous; I know; the world must be ending. I never in a million years would have thought that it would have been possible. The thing I love the most about it, well, until the whole raw thing, is hearing and seeing him turn down tricks. It is the biggest thrill you can ever imagine. I haven’t a clue why; I just know that it is.

 

I have not asked him to move back in yet. I think I will wait until the old bathhouse is done and we can move the business out of the loft.  It cannot fucking happen too soon for my taste. Ted and Cynthia are here everyday, even on the weekends.  We have been extremely lucky with those two; they work beautifully together, and we are raking in the clients.

 

The thing about Justin moving back in? I know I haven’t asked him, and he still has some things at Daphne’s, but he is hardly ever there. It would be really stupid to sleep there when he only has to be here the next morning anyway; and Daphne is really busy with school, not as busy as we are, but still.

 

Construction started a week ago and there are still about three weeks left. It is going to take all of my self-control to make it to the end without bloodshed. 

 

Justin is amazing; he really gets what I am trying to do with an ad, and he gets it done quickly and efficiently.

 

He is amazing with the clients too; they all love him, all bright blue eyes and blond hair. He looks so damn harmless, but he is ruthless when it comes to the business. He can charm the clients to accept an ad they felt was too provocative or edgy, just by batting his big blue eyes and telling them the absolute truth, that I already told them, in a way that makes them think that he is an oracle of sorts. He somehow makes it sound like they are doing HIM a personal favor and they all jump at the chance. It is beautiful to watch, and he is doing it with cold calculation and deliberation. I am so fucking in awe of him that I am often quite speechless when he is on a roll. I only ever bring him to meetings if the client is being difficult. There have only been a few so far, but they have all given in to him.

 

We finally have a weekend off, and Justin and I are going car shopping. Ted tells us that the agency could use the deduction it would get from buying some cars and letting us use them, instead of using cabs when we are going to client meetings. Makes sense, I guess.

 

I wake up before him and just look at him. It is one of my secret guilty pleasures. I do not know if he knows I am doing it, but he has never mentioned it.  Then again, he is smarter than that now. He really is beautiful, but everybody who knows me could have guessed that before ever meeting him. There is no chance that I would have taken him home that first night if he were not, at least, hot.

 

He starts moving a little and I can see he is going to wake up soon. I close my eyes, trying to avoid detection, but I think he saw me, because seconds later, I feel a little kiss on my lips, almost as gentle as butterfly wings. FUCK, what is he doing to me, when the fuck did I start thinking like that?

 

I open my eyes and he is looking at me, smiling that knowing smile of his, the one that says I know you love me soooo much. I still haven’t decided if I hate or love that smile, but I can never stop myself from smiling back at him when he smiles that smile.

 

“Good morning, Sunshine.”

 

“Good morning.”

 

He leans down and kisses me again; this time there is nothing gentle about it. I open my mouth to invite his tongue inside and he deepens the kiss. I can feel myself harden and I grab the back of his head to get him even closer. He moves until he is lying on top of me and I can feel his hard-on against my thigh. I spread my legs a little to accommodate him. He wiggles about until he is comfortable. During all this, we never stop kissing.

 

I bend my legs until my feet are planted on the mattress and he starts moving his ass a little. I can feel pre-cum oozing out of the both of us and I reach my arm out to the nightstand to get lube and a condom. I am so looking forward to the day when we won’t need those anymore.

 

I open the lube and squirt some into his hand. He gives me a look, but doesn’t say anything. He just warms up the lube and slides a finger in my ass. I gasp and tense up a little. He stops for a second, and when I relax, again he moves his finger in and out. After a while, he adds a second finger and I tense again. When the third finger is in, and I have adjusted to that, he pulls all of them out only to replace them with his hot hard cock.

 

This is one of my best-kept secrets, but I fucking love to bottom; I just hate the loss of control. That is why I hardly ever do it, and since I met Justin, he is the only one I have bottomed for. In the beginning, it was because I could top from the bottom; he was young and insecure enough to let me get away with it. That is nothing but a memory now. Whenever he tops now, he is in total control of the fuck and he is doing a fucking fantastic job, too.

 

Before meeting Justin, I never ever let anybody fuck me face to face either, but the little twat gets a kick out of seeing my every facial expression when he fucks me, and I have not found a way to say no to him yet. He is very precisely hitting my prostate on every in stroke, and I am moaning, panting, and cumming way too soon. He really is too good at that for my peace of mind.

 

After he comes too, he collapses on me and stays there until his breathing is back to normal. He is getting soft, so he holds on to the condom and pulls out.

 

“That was great.” I kiss the top of his head. “Are you ready to get up?”

 

“Yeah, let’s grab a shower and go out for breakfast before we look at cars.”

 

He gives me a kiss and gets out of bed. I follow him into the bathroom and we shower, get dressed, and leave within the next hour.

 

None of us have been to the diner since the dinner at Deb’s where it was revealed that Michael had cheated Justin out of his cut of the Rage profits. We have found a little café that has really good coffee and eatable food. 

 

We sit down in a window seat and talk about what kind of car we want.  We are getting one each and we agree that one of them should be big enough to accommodate Gus when we have him.

 

“I have been looking online, and I think we should go look at Porsche. They have a really nice SUV and they have great cars for me too.”

 

I smirk and he grins.

 

“So, I get to drive the family vehicle and you get the fuck-mobile?”

 

“Sure, isn’t that the way it works?”

 

“Hmm, let’s go look at the cars; I’ll let you know then.”

 

I smile widely and he chuckles a little.

 

We get up and call a cab. It will be nice to get a car so we can avoid those.

 

**Justin POV**

 

We get to the Porsche dealer and look at the cars Brian wanted for us. I have to agree they are very beautiful, for cars. The SUV is exactly what we need when we have Gus, and it is big enough for whatever we could need.

 

I was actually only teasing Brian. I don’t want a sports car; I never did. I wasn’t one of those car-crazed boys when I was a kid. I was too into my art to pay much attention to things like that.

 

We walk around for less than 10 minutes before a sales clerk asks if he can help, probably because of Brian’s obvious designer suit, boots and sunglasses.

 

“We are looking for two cars, one for each. We had considered the Cayenne for my partner and a 911 for me.

 

I could almost see the dollar signs in the clerk’s eyes, and he became even more animatedly helpful.

 

“Why, certainly sir, any particular model?”

 

“The Cayenne Turbo S and the 911 GT3 RS. Fully loaded.”

 

“Well, let’s go to my office and look at options, that is, if you have decided.”

 

Brian looked at me and I could tell that the poor clerk thought all was lost when I didn’t look quite as enthusiastic as Brian did.

 

“Sure, let’s.”

 

He sighed with relief and ushered us inside. I suppose a sale like that could probably make his week, if not his month.

 

We ended up buying the cars. Mine was black and cost $158,000 and Brian’s was dark green and cost $ 176,000. The guy looked like he would have had our babies if he had been able to.

 

We left the lot with a promise of delivery within the next three weeks. We called yet another cab and went back to the loft.


	4. Decorating the office

  
Author's notes: Justin finds furniture for the new office.  


* * *

**Brian POV**

 

Two more weeks until the office is ready. God, I can’t fucking wait. It’s been hard having to let some things clutter up the loft. There was no way we would be able to put everything away every day. It wouldn’t have been practical or even possible. We don’t have that kind of storage space at the loft.

 

I fucking hate clutter, and Justin knows it. He’s been really good at trying to tidy up as much as possible, and I’m grateful for that.

 

“Brian?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Do you trust me?”

 

“Yes.” That was an easy one. “Why?”

 

“Would you trust me to choose the furniture for the office?”

 

“You want to see if your gay genes include the decorating gene?”

 

I smirked at him and he flipped me off while laughing.

 

“No, but I have done some research and found some things I think would look amazing. I know you love Italian designers, but I think you will like this.”

 

I thought about it. The thing is, I do trust him, even with this. I know he has impeccable taste, even in clothes, even if he doesn’t show it too often. Actually, that’s a lie; he has been dressed to impress every time he has gone with me to a client meeting, and even just around the loft, he has started to dress more business like, at least while Ted and Cynthia have been here.

 

“Ok, but I get final approval on anything you buy, and you better damn well give Ted the receipts.”

 

“What am I, stupid?”

 

He looked insulted and I felt a stab. I hadn’t meant it like that. I know he’s not stupid, anything but.  It’s just a bad habit, to micromanage everything.

 

“I know you’re not stupid, Sunshine; I’m just not used to trusting anybody with stuff like that. Forgive me?”

 

I gave him a little boy smile I know he can’t resist. I saw his lips curl slightly at the corners.

 

“You know, that smile isn’t going to get you out of everything. One day you’ll find its limitations.”

 

I smirked again and he grinned. I went over to him by the computer and leaned over his back, resting my chin on his shoulder.

 

“I love you, Justin.”

 

I froze and I could feel him tense under me. Where the fuck did that come from? I hadn’t meant to say that; it just slipped out, but I didn’t regret it; I was just surprised as fuck.

 

**Justin POV**

 

Holy shit, he said it, and out of the blue, too. I tensed, so fucking scared that he would take it back, but he just turned my chair around and lifted me to my feet. He kissed me long and hard before pulling back to look into my eyes.

 

“I love you.”

 

He said it again, and I couldn’t help the huge smile that split my face.

 

“I love you too, Brian, god, so much.”

 

He kissed me again, and I wanted him so much in that instant. I started walking us to the bedroom while tugging at his clothes to get them off him. He was doing the same thing to my clothes, and when we hit the bed, we were both naked. We fell on top of the duvet and kissed frantically.

 

We fucked frantically, almost like our life depended on it.  Then, in the middle of it, Brian just stopped. He didn’t pull out, but he became completely still and lifted up on his arms, looking down at me. He smoothed my bangs away from my forehead and started moving his hips slowly and shallowly. Just rocking slightly in and out of me while looking deep into my eyes

 

“God, you are so beautiful.” 

 

I smiled brightly before throwing my head back and gasping when he hit my prostate.

 

“I trust you Justin, more than anybody else in the entire world.”

 

What that man can do to me with a few chosen words. I felt like goo under him, and when he slowly picked up the pace, I was right there with him.

 

When we were done, I laid with my head on his shoulder while he ran his fingers through my hair. I love it when he does that and I know that it centers him. Every once in a while, his index finger will grace across the scar from the bashing, almost like he wants to assure himself that I’m really here and that I didn’t die.

 

“We should shower and go look at what you have found, Sunshine."

 

I nodded, and we got up off the bed and into the bathroom and the shower.

 

**Brian POV**

 

God, after telling him that, I just wanted him.  Luckily, it seemed we were on the same page because, as it turned out, he was the one who got us to the bed. We were fucking at a frantic pace, but I wanted it slow; I wanted to savor the first time after letting him know how I feel. I looked him in the eyes; I saw all of his feelings for me shining out, and that just about made me cum.

 

In the shower, we washed each other carefully, just languidly soaping each other up and cleaning all the soap off afterwards.

 

We put on some jeans and t-shirts before sitting down at his desk to look at the furniture he had chosen.

 

“I’ve been looking at some Danish furniture designers and a few of them have some truly amazing things. I thought that the conference room and the art department could both get a Superelipse table. It was designed by a man named Piet Hein and was intended to be a cross between a round table and a square one.” 

 

He clicked on the link and I saw a beautiful and quite large table. It was perfect for what we needed. It was 240 cm (94.5 inches) long and 140 cm (55.1 inches) wide.

 

“I figured the walls in the conference room and the table could be white, and we could get 18 chairs in different colors.”

 

He clicked on another link, and this one showed chairs that were perfect for the table. He chose the second scroll bar and it showed the 18 different colors the chair comes in. I could see it in my mind’s eye, and I had to agree that it would be great; it would definitely make a statement but still be professional enough not to offend anybody.

 

“Over the table we could hang two of these lamps; they are supposed to be anti-dazzle.”

 

Yet another link; I was starting to wonder how many more links he had, but something told me that it was quite a few. The lamp was amazing, and again, it would be perfect for what he had intended.

 

“This looks amazing, Justin. I had no idea that Danish design was that minimalistic. It’s beautiful.”

 

He beamed at me and gave me a quick kiss.

 

“Thanks, but we are not done yet. Next, I figured we should buy some desks that can be adjusted in height. That way you can choose to sit down or stand up as you see fit. I found this one and figured that it would suit our needs perfectly.”

 

Another click and I saw a desk that was like none other I had ever seen. It was more functional than beautiful, but that was ok; it did look like it would be right for us.

 

“I found this desk chair. It was designed by Arne Jacobsen, the same man who also designed the chairs for the conference room. It comes in a shitload of materials and colors and I figured we could let people decide which one they liked the best. That way, we would get some color in the offices.”

 

“What color had you imagined the walls in?”

 

“White, all of them.”

 

I thought about it for a minute and I liked that idea.

 

“For the desks I figured these lamps.”

 

One more click and I was looking at a lamp that looked a lot like the ones he had imagined for the conference room.

 

“This looks like the lamps from the conference room, Sunshine.”

 

“It was designed by the same man. Poul Henningsen did quite a few lamp designs, and all of them are dazzle-free. I have one for the ceiling in the art department and in the reception area. It’s very big, but I think we need big lamps both places.”

 

He showed me a lamp that looked a little like a pinecone. He told me that it was actually called ‘the cone’ in Danish, so I guess that makes sense.

 

“We need to have a couch and some comfortable chairs around a coffee table in our offices and I found this sofa. It’s a little…weird, but I think it’s beautiful, and it goes perfectly with the chairs I found.”

 

Two more links and I saw the weirdest, but also the most amazing sofa I have ever seen before, and chairs that matched.

 

“They should be white leather, both the sofa and the chairs. We could have a sofa in the reception area too, for people waiting to see somebody.”

 

He looked at me expectantly and I just nodded.

 

“The last thing is the coffee tables. It’s kinda the same shape as the conference room table, but the rest is completely different.”

 

I looked at the table, and he was right.  It was completely different, but still very clean lines and beautiful.

 

“You’ve done an amazing job, Justin. Go ahead and order what we’ll need. If you start out by asking Ted and Cynthia what their chairs should look like, we can ask anybody else we hire along the way. I want mine in white leather to go with the rest of the furniture in my office.”

 

“Yeah, me, too. I think I’ll buy some pillows in jewel colors and put them on the sofas. That way, our offices won’t be completely washed out, color wise.”

 

I just nodded my head again and left him to the task of ordering furniture. Ted and Cynthia showed up about an hour later, both decided what color chair they wanted, everything was ordered, and the bill would be sent to the new office, since the furniture wouldn’t arrive until just before we would be ready to open up the doors.

http://www.designframe.dk/webshop/Borde/Superelipse__B415_-_B615.aspx   

Superelipse table

http://www.designframe.dk/webshop/Stol/Arne_Jacobsen_Serie_7_-_3107_i_farver.aspx   

Serie 7 chairs

http://www.louispoulsen.com/da/Product/pendants/ph%205.aspx?description   

PH 50

http://www.designframe.dk/webshop/Skriveborde/SWITCH_Skrivebord_-_Multibord.aspx   

Desks

http://www.designframe.dk/webshop/Kontorstole/Arne_Jacobsen_Oxford_-_3291.aspx   

Desk chairs

http://www.louispoulsen.com/da/Product/table-floor/ph%2041_2-31_2%20glass%20table.aspx?description=  

Table lamp

 

http://www.louispoulsen.com/da/Product/pendants/ph%20artichoke.aspx?description=

 

Koglen (the cone)

http://www.designframe.dk/webshop/Sofa/Arne_Jacobsen_-_3321.aspx   

Sofa

 

http://www.designframe.dk/webshop/Laenestole/Arne_Jacobsen_Svanen__3320_-_3329.aspx  

 

Svanen (the swan) chair

http://www.designframe.dk/webshop/Sofaborde/the_Tank_-_pp20.aspx 

The Tank (table)


	5. Deb and the accusations

  
Author's notes: Deb goes to the loft to defend her son, she is quite surprised by what she learns.  


* * *

**Debbie POV**

****

It has been three weeks since the dinner where the asshole threatened to sue my kid. Why the fuck can’t he give him some more time, make a payment plan with him or something like that?  I have tried talking to both Justin and Brian for the last two weeks, but they never came to the diner and they never answered their phones. I guess they have caller ID and don’t want to talk to me.  Too bad; they are going to.

 

I go to the loft and knock on the door; a blond woman opens it and I’m momentarily stunned, but then, I remember Ted telling me that they are working out of the loft, so this must be Cynthia.

 

“Are Brian and Justin here? I’m Debbie.”

 

“Oh.  Hello, Debbie.  Yes, they’re here; come on in.”

 

She moves from the door and I walk into the loft, looking around. A lot has changed; there are papers and computers everywhere, or so it seems. There are four computers from what I can see. One on Brian’s desk, one on what I assume is Justin’s desk and two on the dining room table.

 

I had never imagined that Brian, the queen of anal, would ever allow his loft to look like this, but I guess he doesn’t have a choice at the moment.

 

Ted sees me, gets up from his chair, and hurries over to Cynthia.

 

“So, Cynthia, how about joining me for lunch?”

 

He shoots a meaningful look at me and she catches on quickly and follows him out the door.

 

“We’re going to lunch, guys; should we bring you something back?”

 

“No thanks, Cyn. We’ll go get something afterwards, but thanks.”

 

Sunshine, he’s so polite, most of the time anyway.  I don’t like the way he’s treating Michael at the moment.

 

**Brian POV**

****

Oh goody, this should be fun. Mother Novotny coming to defend her hapless child. Fuck, I wish she would stay out of this; it has potential to be a major cluster fuck as it is without her added input.

 

“Deb, what can we do for you?”

 

I try to be gracious, but I have a feeling she’s not in a very gracious mood.  As it turns out, I’m right.

 

“You know fucking well what you can do for me. You can lay off my kid. He’s got enough problems right now without his supposed best friend adding to it. And I’m very disappointed in you, Sunshine; I never would have suspected you to sink so low.”

 

Hell no; fuck what she says about me, but she is so not putting that shit on Justin; he has done absolutely nothing wrong in this.

 

“Oh, no you don’t, Deb. How do you figure that it’s either of our faults that Michael decided to steal 10,000 dollars of Justin’s money? And what exactly do you want us to do? Forget about it?”

 

“You could have given him some more time, or you could have made some kind of fucking payment plan with him.”

 

“He never fucking asked for either, Deb. We haven’t heard a fucking thing from him since the dinner. Besides, he can get the money any fucking time he wants to.  It only means he’ll have to give up something he really wants, but if he hadn’t stolen in the first place, that wouldn’t be an issue, now would it?”

 

My voice has gone up and I am almost yelling at her in the end. Justin puts a hand on the small of my back and I feel myself relax immediately.

 

“What? What do you mean you haven’t heard from him? He told me he had called you plenty of times but you refused to talk to him.”

 

“He hasn’t called us once, Deb, not once.”

 

Her face falls, but then, she looks like she remembers what I had said.

 

“What do you mean he can get the money anytime? Are you suggesting he sell the shop?”

 

“What? No, of course not.  He wouldn’t have anything to live off of if he did that. He could sell his collection of superhero toys and robots. They are worth at least some of the money; the rest he could make a payment plan about, like you said, but he hasn’t even tried, Deb.”

 

I feel drained and slump a little. I go to the couch and sit down.  Justin joins me, and soon after, Deb sits in the chair opposite us; she looks shell-shocked.

 

“That shit is worth money? I never knew. I just thought it was toys, you know?”

 

“Yes, it’s worth money; some of it is worth a lot of money since it’s in mint condition and original packing. If he had sold that shit on E-Bay or somewhere like that, he would have had the money by now.”

 

I can hear the tiredness in my own voice, and I fucking hate that. I wish to fuck I didn’t have to deal with this shit at the same time as trying to start a company. Fuck!

 

I look at Justin who hasn’t said a word to Deb since she came. He looks pissed beyond anything I have seen before, and suddenly, I’m eternally grateful that it’s not at me; he’s a formidable enemy if he chooses to be, just look at Stockwell.

 

I look at Deb, and she is looking at the floor and hasn’t looked at Justin yet. If she had, she wouldn’t have laid into us like that.  At least, I hope she has more fucking sense than that. She looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

 

“Why did he do it, Brian?  I just don’t get it. My Michael is the most tolerant person in the world. I always used to say that when it came to taking care of people, knowing what you need even better than you do, he’s a fucking Picasso.”

 

I see a single tear role down her cheek at the same moment I hear Justin snort derisively. Deb’s head snaps up and she levels him with an evil stare.

 

“You think that’s funny, Sunshine?”

 

“That’s fucking hilarious, Deb; he’s never fucking known what anybody needs; only what he needs. He’s the most selfish bastard I have ever had the misfortune of meeting.”

 

He glares right back at her, just daring her to contradict him. I can see the shock on her face. She’s quiet for a while before she starts talking again.

 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? He’s not selfish; he’s the least selfish person I know.”

 

“Oh, right, that’s why he wants to keep his _best friend_ fourteen forever, make sure he is never really happy, never really out of Michael’s reach. That’s why he’s been telling me from the start that Brian would never change, Brian would never love me, Brian didn’t do boyfriends, and Brian didn’t do anybody twice. Well, guess what, Brian does do all of that.  Michael just couldn’t fucking deal with the fact that it wasn’t with him, so he had to try to ruin it. When that didn’t happen, he had to rub Brian’s face in it when we did implode.  When we got back together, he just had to tell Brian what a big mistake that was, and then, he just had to steal my fucking money to punish me for having what he wanted so desperately and, according to him, throw it away. Well, fuck that, Deb, and fuck you if you think this is in any way our fucking fault. And fuck you for trying to make us feel guilty because your son is a fucking embezzling asshole.”

 

With that, he gets up, puts on his shoes and jacket and leaves. Deb is white as a ghost and shaking slightly.

 

“Where the fuck did that come from? He’s never fucking talked to me like that before, and what the fuck does he think he’s doing just walking away after that?”

 

“Shit, Deb, did you even listen to a fucking word he just said? He’s fucking mad as all hell at you. He feels it’s as much your fault as anybody else’s.”

 

“How the fuck does he figure that?”

 

She looked holier than thou, and it just rubbed me the wrong way right then.

 

“Because you have let Michael get away with blaming shit on everybody else his entire life. Michael could never do anything seriously wrong; if he did, it must have been my doing, or somebody else’s fault, never Michael’s. He hasn’t learned to take responsibility for his own actions.”

 

She stood up and towered over me with a finger in my face.

 

“You have been a bad influence on him since the day he met you. He never got into trouble before then. He was such a sweet kid, so of course I fucking blame you.”

 

I got on my feet so fast I almost knocked her over.

 

“You know what Deb?  Justin’s right; fuck you. I was not a bad influence on him; I never fucking asked him to follow me around and do whatever shit I did; he chose to do that. I never led him on. He needed me to keep him safe at school ant I needed the both of you to keep me sane when Jack beat me too badly. He had a big fucking crush on me for seventeen fucking years and I always told him it wouldn’t fucking happen.”

 I took her by the arm and led her to the door. I put on my shoes, grabbed my jacket, and followed her out the door.

 

We took the elevator, and I refused to look at her. Both Justin and I told her how we felt. We had talked about it, and this was the exact reason we hadn’t answered her phone calls. We really didn’t want to put this on her, but she asked for it when she showed up and started blaming us for what Michael did.

 

When we got to the street, I walked away from her without saying anything.  I really needed to find Justin. I needed his calming influence before I punched the next person I saw. I found him just around the corner; he stood leaning against the building, smoking a cigarette.

 

“Hey. She gone?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I took him in my arms and just held on tight. God, that felt good. I felt him sagging against me a little, and then, I heard the hitch in his breathing that meant that he was crying. Fucking Deb, putting this on him. He has been through so fucking much in his short life, and now, his surrogate mother is trying to make him the bad guy because his business partner stole from him.

 

I held onto him until he eventually lifted his head and dried his eyes.

 

“Let’s go home, Sunshine.”

 

“I’m hungry.”

 

He looks up at me sheepishly, and I can’t help but chuckle a little at him.

 

“Ok, let’s get some food first, then.”

 

We go to the little café and have a couple of sandwiches before going back to the loft. The rest of the day goes by in a sort of blur for the both of us. Ted and Cynthia don’t let on that anything is wrong, and I’ll be eternally grateful to them for that.

 

As soon as they left, we went to bed and fucked for a couple of hours before going to sleep.


End file.
